1950s-Today

During the 1950s, there were two completely opposite views of amphetamines occurring in the world. In Japan, methamphetamine abuse had risen to epidemic levels, following the release of the large military stockpiles to the public. In 1951, Japan’s Health Ministry banned its manufacture and possession inadvertently fueling a growing connection between drug trafficking and Japan’s criminal underworld. At the same time, the United States had no problem allowing the distribution of amphetamine as a way to fight off fatigue or as a way to lose weight. It was not until the mid to late 1960s that general society began to see amphetamine as a danger rather than a benefit. Following the Controlled Substances Act of 1970, law authorities in the US began cracking down on methamphetamine production and distribution. It is at this time to we begin to see a rise in the household “labs” which produce methamphetamine (typically in rural parts of the United States). Further acts in the US include: the Federal Controlled Substance Analogue Enforcement Act of 1986 (which sought to curb use of designer drugs), and the Combat Methamphetamine Epidemic Act of 2005 (which placed restrictions on the amount of pseudoephedrine and ephedrine one could buy within a specific time).